Disclosure
by froslassz
Summary: The Jedi Council didn't know as much as they thought they did. (Revamped: same premise, better writing.)
1. Chapter 1: The Endar Spire

It was yet another incredibly boring day for Lirri Sken aboard the Endar Spire. Not that Lirri was complaining—out loud, at least. She flipped through the information on another datapad, wondering (and not for the first time) why exactly her skills were "necessary" for this "mission." She had done scouting missions for the Republic before, but those had been on her own ship at her own pace, and never once had nothing gone wrong for this long. Lirri sighed, setting the datapad down, and decided that she might as well ask someone exactly what her purpose was on the ship. She vaguely remembered that the Jedi were the ones who supposedly requested her presence—_odd in and of itself_, she mused—so she decided that they were the ones best equipped to answer her questions.

At least, she had thought they would be. The first one she asked outright ignored her; the young Twi'lek didn't even glance her way before scurrying off to do whatever it is Jedi do when they're not giving vague advice to Republic officials. The second Jedi was dismissive; Lirri decided then that she wouldn't be getting her answers that day. Not that she was going to give up, of course; she would just have to go to the evident top of the hierarchy—Bastila Shan_._

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><p>"I don't even have a real job here! It's like they want me to do nothing—and you know how much I hate that." Lirri vented at dinner to her brother, Zhane, and their assorted, if few, friends aboard the Endar Spire.<p>

"Come on, Lir. They said," Zhane half-comforted, half-mocked, affecting a posh accent, "'_your expertise will be invaluable_,' right?"

"What expertise? The ability to read a map?" she groaned.

Across from her, Zhane's bunkmate, Trask Ulgo, interjected, "Come on, Lirri. At least you can read," while nudging Zhane in the ribs.

Zhane rolled his eyes while the rest of the table burst into laughter. "You're laughing now—I've heard word that we've got more drills tomorrow. You won't be getting any more help from me now," Zhane said loftily before removing himself from the table.

Lirri snickered at his back, waiting a few moments before she whispered with a grin to the other soldiers at the table, "Take him down tomorrow. Come from the left—he overestimates how good he is with his dominant hand in close combat."

With that, Lirri retreated from the table as well—she had an early shift in the simulated-morning, and wanted to get as much rest as she could.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Lirri was blearily making her way to the mess hall—caf was necessary for her to be able to function in the morning—when she was intercepted by one of the Jedi; one that she hadn't happened to bother the previous day.<p>

"Miss Sken, your presence is required on the bridge," the Jedi said crisply, before turning and leaving at a pace Lirri herself wouldn't attempt until after her morning cup of caf and at least twenty minutes of "wake-up time."

Turning on her heel, Lirri made her way to the bridge, absently wondering what Georg—the ship's resident navigator with strange eating habits—had managed to do to the coordinates this time. She yawned as she passed through the door into the bridge, and moved quickly over to settle down at her station. A request for a recommendation of their course blinked on her display; she acknowledged it, then began to examine the options. After careful analysis—it wouldn't do to put the ship into the middle of an asteroid field, and there were plenty around—she stretched, content with her choice.

Content until her stomach growled, that is. Lirri sighed before leaving the bridge to get something to eat—it was still early, so she could probably grab breakfast before she was missed. She had almost reached the mess hall when alarms began to sound and a voice blared through her communicator, "_Sith sentries have spotted us—all hands to battle stations!_" Mere moments later, the ship rocked under her feet—the thought _plasma bolts; they're boarding, not wiping us out of the sky?_ flit through her head—nearly sending her sprawling to the ground. As it was, she leaned heavily against one wall of the ship, but nearly immediately righted herself. She spun around, intending to head back to the bridge, and slipped her blaster out of its holster.

She met no resistance for a while—even with the fairly efficient Sith, it did take some time to board another ship, especially one as large as the _Spire—_but when she did, it was intense. She had opened a door, trying to take the shortest path to the bridge, only to be met with a barrage of blaster fire. Flinging herself behind a wall for cover, she paused for a moment before returning fire, taking down a few Sith troopers before the door opposite hers opened to reveal Zhane and Trask. They, of course, were more than happy to help her clear the room.

"Drills, eh?" Lirri deadpanned, raising an eyebrow at her brother as she walked over.

Zhane simply snorted in reply and turned to lead them back toward the bridge. Sith presence was much thicker; they all sported a few minor injuries—Lirri and Trask had several blaster burns each, though they weren't very serious, while Zhane had both blaster burns and a few nicks from vibroblades—but they were able to make it through with relative ease. At least until they reached the bridge.

Instead of finding the relatively calm tactical center they had expected, however, they found a battlefield. The chaos on the bridge—erratic blaster fire, the _clashing_ sounds of vibroblades, and a surprising amount of explosions—was startling, but they threw themselves into the fray. However, it wasn't long before one of the consoles exploded, flinging debris into the air and sending sparks flying, which effectively ended the fight. As the last of the other soldiers fell, Lirri took a moment to breathe, though a previously unknown sense of urgency coiled in the pit of her stomach as she quickly examined Zhane and Trask for injuries.

Their brief respite was broken by the crackle of their communicators.

_"This is Carth Onasi. You need to hurry to the escape pods-you three are the last ones on our side left on the ship, and we don't have much time left."_

The three companions shared a look before taking off, decimating the meager Sith forces that loitered in the corridors between them and their goal. After clearing the room adjacent to the nearest entrance into the starboard side of the ship, however, the door across from their entrance opened to reveal a bald Sith who immediately activated his lightsaber.

"Go! I'll hold him off-" Trask yelled, grabbing Zhane's vibroblade from him and charging the Sith, somehow managing to get the door to shut as he passed it.

Lirri froze for a few excruciating milliseconds before she handed Zhane her backup blaster and they turned back and took off. Her initial disbelief and anger had settled into a cool fury by the time that they reached the next Sith soldiers; her aim was lethal, and Zhane was no slouch either. There were only a few doors left when their communicators crackled to life again.

_"You've done well so far, but there are too many of them in the next room for you two to take down by yourselves. Find something to thin their numbers, and you'll be in the clear." _Carth Onasi recommended.

"I'll see if this console is connected to the wiring-a wave of electricity should take them out." Zhane said, eager to win at least one more battle against the Sith.

His fingers moved quickly over the console, and it wasn't long before a _crackle_ was heard. Screams were muffled by the sheer amount of metal in the door between them and their enemies; the smell that met their nostrils when they finally opened that door, however, was in no way dampened. Moving quickly, they finally reached the escape pod bay.

"Finally! We've got one pod left-let's go before they blast us out of the sky." A man-whose voice Lirri recognized as the same one who had been speaking on the communicator-urged.

They complied; as they had progressed through the ship, the vague sense of anxiety that had been present bloomed into an undeniable urge to _hurry_. All three squeezed into the escape pod, hastily fastening their restraints.

"This could get a little bumpy," Carth cautioned before releasing the pod.

There was a moment where the pod hung, weightless, in the vacuum of space. Then, the thrusters that powered the pod blazed to life. The sudden push revealed that Lirri hadn't been quite as secure as she thought she was in her restraints; she was able to grab on and steady herself as they sailed through space, but was thrown into darkness when the pod hit atmosphere.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: If you read the first chapter of this thing before I updated it, please go back and read it? It's a lot better, I think.**

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><p>A headache was the first thing that Lirri felt when she woke. Headache may have been underestimating the pain, though; any movement seemed to send it directly into migraine territory. So, Lirri did the only sensible thing; she promptly froze and groaned audibly, hoping that someone helpful was in the room with her, since she was almost completely certain that opening her eyes would be a monumental mistake.<p>

"You're finally awake-let me get you something for the pain." A voice murmured just loud enough to be heard.

Lirri made what she hoped was a thankful noise-it may or may not have sounded more like a mynock in heat. She heard the owner of the voice moving around, grabbing something before coming to her side.

"Okay, this might sting a little-I've got a low-level localized painkiller. We-well, I-was afraid to give you too much while you were out." The voice (that she was beginning to recognize as Commander Carth Onasi, which relieved her-if you land on a planet controlled by the enemy, it's better to have as many friends as possible) explained while he injected the wonderful drug. "Give it a few minutes, then we could head down to the local doctor."

Lirri nodded, and when that motion didn't incite undesirable effects, she grinned and opened her eyes. She slowly stretched, trying to feel out exactly what damage had been done to her body.

"It's good to see you up, finally, instead of thrashing around in your sleep. For a while, we thought you weren't going to wake up at all."

Lirri cringed, raising a hand to feel the extent of the damage, before questioning, "You keep saying 'we'; where's Zhane?"

"Apparently you told him to 'never attempt anything resembling a medical procedure' on you?" Carth replied, smiling, "So he's off trying to find information for us. He did come back and say that there was a doctor nearby who would help us, and I'd rather get your head checked out before we move on."

"Yeah, he's a bit disastrous if you give him a medkit." Lirri smiled, then stood up, "Well, we'd best get going-that anaesthetic isn't going to work forever, and I'd rather be finished with this doctor as soon as possible. I'm guessing we've got a lot to do?"

"I'll explain on the way." Carth promised, grabbing his blasters and handing another to Lirri.

* * *

><p>As it happened, it would be a few minutes before Carth could really begin explaining their situation. As they left the apartment they had effectively commandeered, they heard some idiot yelling, threatening the aliens that lived in the apartment complex. Not only did the angry man-who, upon closer inspection, was a Sith soldier-shoot the poor alien who tried to peacefully defend himself and his fellows, but the soldier also spotted Lirri and Carth. The minor altercation that followed really wasn't much, especially compared to what had happened on the <em>Spire<em>, but it still caused Lirri's headache to return. She excused herself and Carth as soon as could be polite from the throng of aliens that came to thank them-apparently, the Sith made a habit of "inspecting" their apartment building.

Irritated, but not entirely surprised, they emerged from the building. As Carth took the lead, he began to explain, "It looks like Bastila crashed in one of the lower levels of the city. So, we have to find a way down there, which is what your brother's working on right now. After we find her, though, we also have to find a way off-planet; the Sith have quarantined the entire planet, probably to find Bastila."

"So, we have to find Bastila before the Sith do, while attempting to hide our identities from the Sith, who also have the advantage in number and resources. Not impossible, but it's not gonna be easy." Lirri mused. "It's definitely better than it could be," she continued, eyeing a Sith patrol.

They continued, as surreptitiously as they could, toward the clinic, ironing out a few more details about their mission as they went along.

* * *

><p>"Welcome! I am Zelka Forn, the doctor here. What seems to be the matter?"<p>

Zelka Forn was a kind, dark-skinned older man. He spoke calmly, confident that no matter what their problem was, he would be able to fix it. Lirri hoped that he was right-she was already ready to find Bastila and get off Taris.

"I hit my head...a few days ago?" Lirri said, tilting her head at Carth, questioning. When he nodded, she continued, "I woke up earlier today, actually."

The disbelief coupled with slight panic that was visible on Zelka's face was nearly amusing. "And you," he began, directed at Carth, "didn't think to bring her by earlier?"

Carth immediately began to do damage control. "Her brother came by right after we," he paused slightly, wondering exactly how much to reveal, especially in front of Zelka's assistant, "arrived. You sent some medicine back with him, which I used according to your directions."

Zelka's fears seemed to be assuaged, so he directed Lirri over to an examination table. "Yes, I remember. It seems to be healing nicely, though I assume that you've had a headache?" At Lirri's nod, he nodded to himself and moved to get additional drugs for her. "There isn't much healing left to do, but be careful for the next few days."

* * *

><p>They escaped the clinic with a minimum of fuss after that, though Zelka's assistant had attempted to stop them; something about a rakghoul vaccine and lots of credits? Lirri had tuned him out the minute he started talking.<p>

Their next destination was the cantina.

"He mentioned something about that always being where you go when you need information?" Carth said, glancing at her in amusement.

Lirri rolled her eyes, though in good humor. "I'll have you know that the bartender can point out who knows what you want to know, and drunk people are _very_ forthcoming."

"I didn't say it wasn't a good plan," he replied.

"Good. 'Cause it's a great plan." she grinned. "By the way, since it looks like we're going to be stuck together for a while, why don't you tell me about yourself?"

Carth looked a bit surprised, but recovered well. "Not much to say that you probably don't already know," he said, "I started out as a pilot in the Mandalorian Wars, and I've been flying ever since. These Sith, though? They're worse than the Mandalorians ever hoped to be." He frowned, briefly, as though he were debating whether to continue his thought. His tone lowered, "My planet was one of the first to fall to Malak's fleet, and there was nothing I could do to stop it."

Lirri froze internally-_what do you do when someone tells you something like that?, _she panicked-but before she could stop her mouth, she wondered, "What could you have done?"

Carth visibly tensed and opened his mouth to respond before checking himself. "Look, this isn't something that I talk about. With anyone, usually. I know that you mean well, but.."

Lirri, flustered by her inability to keep her mouth shut, replied, "No, no, of course. Let's just... move on, yeah?"

* * *

><p>Fortunately (and conveniently), the cantina was in sight. After blinking rapidly-<em>how dark does a place like this have to be?<em>, Lirri wondered-to clear her vision, Lirri scanned the crowds for her brother, only to see him on a viewscreen, seemingly fighting for his life. It seemed that they had arrived at the end of the match, though, as Zhane brought his vibroblade down for the final blow against his blonde opponent. The woman crumpled, and Zhane turned to beam at the cameras.

"_The Mysterious Stranger wins again!" _a smarmy announcer shouted, continuing on with some moneymaking spiel.

Lirri's attention was spent primarily on sighting her brother; when she finally saw him, he was deep in conversation with a woman. He glanced around the room-a habit they had both long since formed-and saw her, which prompted him to grin and wave her over.

"Perfect timing, Sis!"

"Who's your friend?" Lirri smiled politely, glancing back briefly to make sure that Carth hadn't been lost in the crowd.

"This is Sarna-she's stationed here, for the time being." Zhane introduced, giving Lirri and Carth a look that said, _I know what I'm doing. Give me a second._

"I ought to go-my shift's about to start. You _are_ coming tonight, though, right?" Sarna asked Zhane.

"Of course-do you think they could come too?"

Sarna tilted her head to the side, considering, before nodding. "I don't see why not. It'll be nice to have some fresh faces in the crowd."

"Wonderful! I can't wait to see you tonight!" Zhane smiled and waved, before returning his attention to his allies. "I have some explaining to do, don't I?" he asked sheepishly.

"Explain why you were chatting up an actual Sith trooper? Maybe just a little." Lirri confirmed.

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><p>Zhane rolled his eyes before beginning, "Well, here I was, minding my own business, making a few credits, and we start talking. I found out she's a Sith, my first instinct is to get out of here-but then I think, 'Hang on a second, self, the Sith seem to go through that checkpoint at the elevator just fine! See where this goes.' So I do. She starts telling me about this party that's going down tonight, and basically they're going straight from the base to the party. Not even gonna lock up their uniforms."<p>

A brief pause followed, before Carth nodded. "That could work. We'll have to be very careful, but.."

Lirri nodded as well, before tilting her head to the side in confusion. "So, want to explain the fight to the death you were engaged in earlier?"

* * *

><p>It turned out that Zhane was not, in fact, engaged in a fight to the death. He had, however, managed to pick up a significant amount of credits from his legal, nonlethal activities, so they were able to find suitable clothes for the party that night. The party that was currently raging around them. Apparently, Tarisian ale, when consumed in a sizeable quantity, caused people to go completely insane and then pass out. In Lirri's estimation, anyway-she was leaning up against a wall, waiting for the rest of the partiers to collapse. She was just glad that the guy who had seemed to take interest in her earlier-Yan Ghenda? He had been slurring almost ridiculously-was one of the first to drop.<p>

The crowd was quickly dispersing; that is, if you call people almost simultaneously dropping to the ground "dispersing." It would have been comical to Lirri if she hadn't been mildly concerned about both their alcohol content and their general wellbeing. However, there wasn't much time to fret over them; she, Zhane, and Carth needed to hurry and grab the Sith uniforms they needed so they could get out of the apartment and back to their own. There was a brief, horrific moment as Lirri pulled her uniform out of a bag on one side of the room; the nearest partier seemed to stir. In fact, the woman had rolled over to face Lirri; a split second filled where utter dread filled her stomach before the Sith trooper snored. Lirri sighed in relief, leaning briefly on the wall beside her before grabbing the rest of the uniform and speeding out of the room.

* * *

><p>The next day saw the three stranded members of the Republic strapping themselves into <em>borrowed <em>Sith uniforms.

"This is stifling!" Zhane complained, wearing only the blank-faced helmet over his regular clothes.

Lirri rolled her eyes, but said nothing; she was too busy strapping her leg bracers on to reply.

Carth passed a hand through his hair as he said, "We'll only have to wear them until we get into the elevator. You can bear it until then."

After a few more minutes of muffled complaints-from all sides-and frustrated clanging of shiny silver plating, what appeared to be three Sith soldiers trooped out of the apartment complex. On the way, people tended to make room for them; apparently, though the occupation had been brief, the people of Taris had already learned to give the Sith a wide berth. It suited our heroes just fine, though-they were able to make extremely good time to the elevator.

They passed through the checkpoint without even being stopped; in fact, they weren't even sure that there was actually a person inside the suit that was supposed to be guarding the elevator. It could have been carefully arranged so it wouldn't fall over and they wouldn't have known the difference. Not that they were complaining, of course. As soon as the doors of the elevator closed, they started ripping the Sith armor away. They stowed the uniforms near the elevator as soon as it opened, and drew their weapons at the sound of blaster fire approaching them.

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><p><strong>AN: And that's the first chapter of Taris finally done! I like how it's turning out so far, but I seriously can't wait until more characters are available than these three. I love them, but variety would definitely be helpful. Let me know what you think?<br>**


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